The School of Nursing and Health Studies took part in the third annual Healthcare Simulation Week to promote awareness of the important role simulation plays in health care education the world over. In health care simulation, clinical environments and health care events are re-created, followed by debriefing sessions, to teach new skills, refresh old ones, and improve the delivery of safe, effective patient care.
Simulation education takes place year-round in the school’s high-fidelity Simulation Hospital. This week alone, faculty taught over two dozen simulation-based courses and labs, including suturing, starting IVs and catheters, and inter-professional skills. “Healthcare Simulation Week celebrates our collective commitment and dedication to improving patient safety through the use of health care simulation,” said Assistant Professor of Clinical Susana Barroso-Fernandez, director of Simulation Hospital Special Projects at SONHS.
This year’s celebration featured an appreciation luncheon for all of the amazing nurse educators and simulation technologists who help SONHS simulation faculty innovate safe, effective clinical simulation scenarios for students both on site and in academic settings throughout the hemisphere. “We have a dream team of nursing faculty, nurse educators, and simulation technologists because we all work in tandem to transform the lives of our future health care providers through simulation-immersive education and innovation,” said Professor of Clinical Juan E. Gonzalez, director of the BSN-DNP Nurse Anesthesia Program.
In a prelude to Healthcare Simulation Week, Professor of Clinical Jeffrey Groom, associate dean for Simulation Programs, attended a workshop hosted by the Center for Medical Simulation in Boston as part of the National Board of Certification and Recertification for Nurse Anesthetists subcommittee’s review of simulation-based assessments as an option to standardized testing for CRNA recertification. Groom, the subcommittee’s co-chair, says CRNAs could become one of the first health care groups in the United States to adopt simulation-based recertification assessment.
“Health care simulation continues to grow at an extraordinary rate,” said KT Waxman, president of the Society for Simulation Healthcare, which sponsors Healthcare Simulation Week. “An increasing number of professionals in the health care industry are waking up to simulation’s ability to help individuals and organizations improve patient care, which is so great to witness.”
To tour the SONHS Simulation Hospital, call 305-284-3666.
